Kodak world headquarters remain in Rochester, where it once employed more than 60,000 people at the peak of hiring in the 1980s. But total employment in the metropolitan area has risen to some 520,000 from about 414,000 since then, and the area's population has grown to about 1.1 million from 971,000.

Rochester avoided Detroit's fate as intellectual capital remained in the city. The University of Rochester is now the biggest employer there, while other major universities and hospitals have added to improving job opportunities. Many former employees stayed in the area after departing from Kodak and have created a burgeoning high tech manufacturing sector.

See TheStreet's above video about the story of Kodak's fall, its bankruptcy and Rochester's resiliency, and read our three part series for an in-depth look at one of America's once great companies: